Rail anchor



" and in application, that their Patented Aug. 31, 1926.

regain LOUIS R. PARSONS, OF RARITAN, ILLINOIS.

RAIL ANCI-IOR.

Application led December 14, 1925. Serial No. 75,399.

This invention relates to a railroad rail anchor, through the use of which the rail is anchored to the tie plate in a manner to interlock the parts to prevent possibility oit separation or the independent longitudinal creep of the rail under any stresses to which it may be subjected in use.

ris is well understood, tie plates, formed ttor carrying the rail, are formed with a plurality of spike openings, usually tour in number, through certain of which, ordinarily the diagonally opposite pair, the usual spikes are driven to take into the tie underlying` the tie plate with the head ot the spike bearing on the rail. In ordinary usage, the travel on the rail tends to a loosening of these spikes, so that the rail is free to creep with the consequent danger. Various means have been employed to anchor the rail and tie plate together, with a View to so interlocking these parts as to preventA creeping of the rail under any et the usual stresses. Many oi' such anchoring devices are so complicated, both in cost of manufacture use is prohibited, while others, seeking the ideal manner of ancho 1ing the rail, have constructed the anchoring devices in the 'orin of spikes, which through various formations, are alleged to grip the tie plate in a manner to avoid relative loosening oi' the rail. These spikes however, in practically every instance, are oil the usual length of railroad spikes and are designed and intended to be driven the appropriate distance into the tie. Here is the serious drawback to anchoring devices of this character,.ior there is necessarily vertical play in the tie plate and rail relative to the tie in the travel oi the train, and each time the spike is slightly withdrawn and then forced back into the tie by the weight oi the train, the resist-ance oi" the tie against the spike is exerted directly upon the interlocking means or triction between the spike and tie plate, and thus the very object sought is prevented, ior the weight of the train itself acts to break the anchor.

The present invention seeks to provide a rail anchor in the form of a spike, but distinguished from the usual spike in that when in place, it has little or no penetration of the tie. The anchoring spike so called ot this invention is formed atan appropriate point in its length, and on two diametrically opposite sides with abrupt right-angled shoulders. These vshoulders are designed to cooperate with the walls of the tie plate opening to cause an interlocking cooperation between the anchoring spike and tie plate.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view, partly in section, showing the rail, tie plate, tie, and anchoring keys in applied positions.

F ig. 2 is a transverse section through the same illustrating the position of the anchoring key, with the latter shown in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view ot the improved anchoring key.

The anchoring spike of this invention is designed to be used with any usual or conventional form of tie plate as l, constructed to receive and support the rail 2 and rest on the tie 3, the usual tie spikes being employed in certain holes as l of the tie plate, all of which is the usual construction.

lt is proposed to anchor the rail to the tie plate through the use of anchoring spikes or keys employed in the remaining holes of the tie plate. As illustrated, this anchoring key is Generally of spike formation, in that it has the usual head 5 and rectangular bod 6, adapted to more or less snugly lit the opening in the tie plate. A characteristic and important feature ot this key is that its length is materially less than the length oit the usual spike, being in fact such that when in place, the lower pointed endet such key will penetrate the tie to a comparatively slight extent only, andthis penetration will not extend above the pointed end to any appreciable extent.

A pair of opposing walls of the key, preferably that pair of such walls parallel to the rail as the key is applied, are formed with abrupt shoulders 7, arranged at such a distance from the head of the kei that when the latter is bearing upon the rail, the shoulders will not have passed entirely through the tie plate, the preferred distance being such that in applied position, the shoulders will be substantially coincident with or immediately above the lower surface of the tie plate. As the sectional dimension of the key in line with the shoulders exceeds that of the opening in the tie plate, it will be apparent that under a driving force on the head of the key, the shoulders will be forced along the walls of the tie plate opening. In this operation, there will be a mutual compression of the metal of the key, including the shoulders, and of the walls of the tie plat-e, insuring thereby a frictional grip, which is effective to some extent, in maintaining the key in place. However, as the shoulders of the key are not, as experience proves, entirely sheared away in this driving action of the key, there will be appreciable permanent projections from the walls of the key, which, in the Atina] seating of the key, will bear tightly againf-:t the walls of the spike opening innnediately adjacent the lower edge of said opening. Any tendency to displace the key, that is, move the same upwardly to free the rail, will result in a shearing effect of these shoulder projections of the key on the walls of the tie plate opening. This tendency to displace the metal of the walls of the opening will cause such metal to override the shoulders as the key is forced upwardly, and this constitutes a resistance to an upward movement of the key which actual tests have proven is many times in excess of that to which the interlocking key would ever be subjected in actual use.

Another and important feature of the invention is that the interlocking has a length which is slightly greater than that required to pass through the tie plate. in fatt, the pointed end only of the key will take into the tie. Therefore, as the rail and tie plate rise and fall as a unit under the travel of the train, the downward movement of the. key is not resisted by the tie and there is consequently no upward pressure on the key incident to the weight of the train and the resistance of the tie. Hence, the grip of the interloelling key as described is allowed to remain eilective and there are no external influences tending to break this grip and force the key upwardly.

In other anchoring spikes, where special formation tends to insure a grip between the spike and tie plate, the spikes penetrate to substantially the normal spike depth in the tie. ils the rail and tie plate move up and, down, as they are certain to do in use, each downward moven'ient of the spike is resisted by the tie, and this resist .Y fe acts directly against the 'jrittional hold between the spike and tie plate, so that the very holding effect is continually being opposed by the natural movement of the p rthis renders these anchoring spikes of little real value after an extremely short use. This objectionable feature is, it will be apparent, entirely overcome by the present anchoring key, as the tie resistance is in effect nonresistant.

rlhe pres-ent anchoring key is, therefore, formed to so interlock with the walls of the tie plate opening as to compel a shearingl of the tie plate in the upward movement of the key; and is further of such relative length as to avoid substantial penetration of the tie, to prevent tie resistance from inducing upward pressure on the key as the parts move in actual usage.

Claims:

l. An anchoring key vfor securing rail` road rails to tie plates, comprising headed member having a body of sections dimension substantially equal to that of the tie plate opening, two of the opposing sides of such body being formed with abrupt shoulders extending beyond the normal plane of the body, the distance between the shoulders and the head of the member being such as to conline the shoulders to a point immediately above the lower surface of the tie plate when the anchoring key is in fully driven position.

2. An anchoring key for securing railroad rails to tie plates, comprising a headed member having a body of sectional dimension substantially equal to that of the tie plate opening, the opposing sides of such body parallel with the rail in the application of the key being formed with abrupt shoulders extending beyond the normal plane of the body, the distance between the shoulders and the head of the member being such as to @online the shoulders to a point immediately above the lower surface of the tie plate when the anchoring key is in fully driven position.

3. An anchoring key for securing railroad rails to tie plates, comprising a headed meniber having a rectangular body and a wedgeshaped terminal, two of the opposing sidesof said body being formed with abrupt shoulders to increase the sectional din'iension of the body slightly in excess of that of the tie plate opening, the length of the key being such that when driven the wedgeshaped terminal only will penetrate the tie underlying the tie plate.

t. An anchoring key for securing railroad rails to tie plates, comprising a headed meniber having a rectangular body and wedgeshaped terminal, two of the opposing sides of said body being formed with abrupt shoulders to increase the sectional dimension of the body slightly in excess of lthat of the tie plate opening, the length of the. body and the relation of the shoulders to the head being such that when the key is in anchoring position the shoulders will be disposed slightly above the lower surface of the tie plate and the wedge-shaped terminal only of the key will penetrate the tie.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature.

LOUIS R. PARSONS.

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